An independent Scotland would run up the second highest budget deficit in the developed world behind the US, according to Treasury estimates.

The nation, which goes to the polls this year to vote for its future governance, would have a deficit of £9.5 billion in its first year.

That’s the same as £1,760 per person, according to the Treasury findings, which are based data from the International Monetary Fund.

It comes at the end of a series of warnings about the economy of a post-Independence Scotland.

Several large employers have threatened to quit the country, while senior analysts say independence could leave the nation isolated in Europe.

Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, rejects these predictions. He says Scotland’s energy resources could “power most of Europe” and has potential as a knowledge-based economy.